The Nation GAIN

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Cabinet Decisions taken recently

The following Cabinet decisions were taken on 20.10.2010 under the Chairmanship of President Mahinda Rajapakse :

1) Military Footwear Manufacturing Facility

The Cabinet approval was given to establish a Joint Venture for manufacturing military footwear through Lanka Logistics and Technologies Limited. This joint venture will be established between the government and a reputed private sector footwear manufacturer, and it will manufacture footwear required by the Armed forces, Police and other law enforcement agencies and will produce about one million pairs of footwear per year.. The Joint Venture will reduce foreign exchange outflow on footwear imports. Cabinet approval was granted for the appointment of a Negotiating Committee to negotiate with the prospective private sector investors.

2) National Police Academy.. In view of the need to ensure the efficiency and effectiveness of maintenance of law and order, and enhance the capacity of the Police Department, Cabinet approval was granted to establish a permanent National Police Academy by an Act of Parliament. This academy will be equipped with necessary expertise from various fields such as low, criminology, investigation, public relations, forensics, information technology and management. Cabinet approval was granted to instruct the Legal Draftsman to draft legislation for the purpose.

3) Reactivation of Atchuvely Industrial Estate – Jaffna. This industrial estate covers an extent of 65 acres of land belonging to the Industrial Development Board, and was established in 1971 in the Jaffna district to provide infrastructure facilities for small and medium industries. The 36 factories which were operating in the Estate were severely damaged by the terrorist conflict. Approval was granted to reactivate this Industrial Estate with the assistance of IDB and BOI. The Government of India has agreed to grant Rs. 174 Million and the government will provide Rs. 25 Million for reactivating this Industrial Estate.

4) UNIDO Country Programme for Sri Lanka – Phase III

This country programme proposes a total of 7 projects and this has been approved by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) Project Approval Committee. It has estimated that a budget of U.S.$ 7.7 Million would be required for the following two main components of the country programme.

1. Component 1 – North and East – Support sustainable livelihood and productive activities through Private Sector development. This would promote micro industries in the North and East Region, increase agricultural productivity and promote rural income generating activities, fisheries, industries in the North and East regions etc.

2. Component 2 – increase the competitiveness of industries and reduce poverty through the introduction of environment friendly technologies etc.

Cabinet approval was given to sign the relevant agreement by the Ministry of Finance and Planning.

5) Embilipitiya Paper Mill Cabinet Approval was granted to call for expression of interest from domestic as well as foreign investors to revamp the Enbilitiya Paper Mill. Presently government spends about Rs. 4 – 5 Billon for import of paper and paper products. It is expected that a large part of this expenditure can be saved by revamping this paper mill on public private partnership basis.

6) Revamp Ceylon Ceramic Corporation Factors. Cabinet Approval was also granted to call for expression of interest from domestic as well as foreign investors to revamp the Eragama, Uswewa, Mahinyangana, and Elayapattuwa factories of the Ceylon Ceramic Corporation.

7) Kantale Sugar Factory Cabinet Approval was also granted to call for expression of interest from domestic as well as foreign investors to revamp the Kantale Sugar Industries Limited on public private partnership basis.

8) School Dental ClinicsAt present there are 473 Dental Clinics in schools of which 170 are in National Schools, and 330 in Provincial Schools. Over 65,000 students get benefited from these Dental Clinics. Cabinet Approval was granted to renovate these clinics at an estimated cost of Rs. 118 Million. The project will be implemented in 2011 and 2012.

9) Construction of School and Sports Buildings Approval was granted to award the contracts for consultancy and constructions of buildings at Homagama, Pitipana Maha Vidyalaya and a Sports Building at Lumbini Maha Vidyalaya at Colombo 05, to the Central Engineering Consultancy Bureau.

10) Biodiversity Garden Cabinet Approval has already been granted for the project proposal for the establishment of a Biodiversity Garden of Tropical Fruits at the Fruit Crops Research and Development Centre at Horana. This covers an extent of around 250 acres. Cabinet Approval was granted for the allocation of funds amounting to a total of Rs 108 Million for the years 2011, 2012, and 2013.

11) Re-building of Rural Livelihoods and Community Organizations in Kilinochchi District.A sum of U.S.$ 5.0 Million is to be provided by the Korean International Cooperation Agency for this purpose. This project will strengthen the community based organizations and Develop Infrastructure facilities for agriculture, irrigation and livestock sector and provide the required inputs for farmers. The donor will provide financial resources and the government of Sri Lanka will provide staff, services and other facilities needed for the purposes. Cabinet approval was granted for this proposal.

12) Improvement and Rehabilitation of Priority RoadsLoan Facility of U.S.$ 500 Million from China Development Bank Co. Ltd., to finance improvement and rehabilitation of priority roads. Of this amount U.S.$ 200 Million will be allocated in 2010 and the balance of U.S.$ 300 Million in 2011 to finance roads projects. In order to accelerate the government road construction programme to provide necessary connectivity and linkages to the road network currently being constructed, it was decided to identify priority road sections covering the entire island connecting all electorates to finance under the credit facility extended by the China Development Bank. The total length of the roads that will be rehabilitated/constructed will be 1,174 km. throughout the country, using the proceeds of this loan.

13) North Central Province electrification to 100%.

This project will provide 550 new Rural Electrification Schemes in the North Central province. A total number of 110,000 domestic connections and 10,000 connections for small business / industries will be provided under this project. Cabinet approval was granted to enter into a Credit Facility Agreement with Norda Bank AB of Sweden for U.S.$ 53.49 million being 85% of the ost of the project. Proceeds of this loan will be utilized by the Ceylon Electricity Board for the above Electricity project. The balance 15% will be borne by the Government.

14) Consultancy Services for Conflict Affected Region Emergency ProjectThe government has entered into an agreement with the Asian Development Bank to implement the above project to address the emergency needs of the Northern, Eastern and North Central Provinces. The total project cost is estimated to be U.S.$ 168.24 million, which includes ADB Credit Facilities of U.S$ 150 million and government financing of U.S.$ 18.24 million. The loan agreement is effective from September 2010 up to September 2013. This includes the following:

1. Rehabilitation of National (65 km), Provincial (100 km), and Local (100 km) roads under the Northern Provincial and North Central Provincial Council

2. Restoring power and improving water supply schemes in these provinces

3. Improving the basic social services in these provinces, and

4. Reconstruction of Court Houses in the Northern Province.

Cabinet approval was granted to entrust the Consultancy Services of this project to the Central Engineering Consultancy Bureau.(niz).

New hydropower project in N' Eliya

The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) will soon commence construction on the Broadland hydropower complex in the Nuwara Eliya district with a total investment of US$ 82 million. The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited (ICBC) funds 90 percent of the total investment while 10 percent will be funded by the People's Bank.

The total capacity of the project is estimated 35 MW and it will also contribute 126 GWH millions annually to the national grid. The Broadland hydro power plant is expected to complete by 2014 as a foreign and local partnership, a CEB spokesman told Daily News Business.

The complex will be built in an environmental friendly manner. This project will be the fourth underground power plant.

The project dam is margined to the Central Province while the underground plant will be in the Sabaragamuwa province. This is also the last power project in the Lakshapana power complex.

There are around 20 families in the area of the project and the CEB has already started a re-settlement program for these families.

Due to the rapid growth in several industries and the accelerated efforts in electrification the growth in a particular year may increase. The demand and supply gap needs to be filled accordingly. The CEB said the growth of electricity demand would increase by 10 percent annually.

Through the Broadland hydropower plant the Government expects to enhance economic growth, poverty reduction and ensure balanced regional development.

With the completion of the project there will be a steady supply and low cost electricity to cater to the increasing demand for electricity.

TVS unit enters Sri Lanka´s solid tyre industry

Sun Tyre & Wheel Systems, part of India´s TVS Group, has acquired Watts Lanka Pvt. Ltd., a solid industrial tyre maker in Colombo.

Watts Lanka Pvt. Ltd. was a joint venture between Watts Tyres Ltd. of England and KVK Invest JSC of Bulgaria, principal shareholder in Balkancar Zarya P.L.C.

The acquisition of the Sri Lankan company will not only add much-needed capacity and considerably ease delivery pressures, but also provide strategic location advantages by establishing a base in the world’s center for solid tires. Work already has begun on adding more manufacturing equipment to increase the base capacity in Colombo. Production and shipment from Sri Lanka will commence within the next four weeks, Sun Tyre said.

Sun Tyre generates more than 95 percent of its sales overseas, with distribution across all continents, and despite expanding its manufacturing facilities in India substantially over the past three years, still finds itself seriously short of capacity. Even during the global recession, the company clocked a healthy growth rate of 40 percent, which it said is continuing unabated.

TVS Group describes itself as one of the 10 largest industrial groups in India, with annual sales of more than $6 billion. Among its holdings is TVS Srichraka, an automotive tire maker.

Monday, October 25, 2010

Nafeek's death sentence confirmed

RIYADH: The Supreme Court in Riyadh has endorsed the death sentence given to a Sri Lankan maid who murdered a Saudi infant in 2005, sources from Sri Lanka’s External Affairs Ministry told Arab News Sunday.

A three-member panel of judges from the Dawadami High Court headed by Chief Justice Abdullah Al-Rosaimi found Rizana Nafeek guilty of murdering the four-month-old son of Naif Jiziyan Khalaf Al-Otaibi and sentenced her to death on June 16, 2007.

The court heard that Nafeek killed the child after she was asked to bottle-feed him by the sponsor's wife.

The court informed Nafeek that she could file an appeal against her death sentence, which she did.

When the maid's case was referred to the Supreme Court via the Court of Cassation, the Hong Kong-based Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) assigned Saudi law firm Khateb Al-Shammary on a reported SR150,000 contract to defend her.

The Supreme Court referred the case again to the Dawadami court for further clarification on the appeal made by Al-Shammary before issuing its verdict.

Nafeek arrived in Riyadh on May 4, 2005 to work as a housemaid for Al-Otaibi. According to Nafeek’s passport, her date of birth is Feb. 2, 1982, while her birth certificate indicates her actual date of birth as Feb. 4, 1988.

She killed the baby on the afternoon of May 22, 2005. She was arrested by Dawadami police officers the same day, and allegedly confessed to killing the child.

AHRC Executive Director Basil Fernando told Arab News by telephone from Hong Kong Sunday that he would seek the help of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to resolve the case.

He also appealed to Al-Otaibi to consider sparing Nafeek’s life on humanitarian grounds and give her clemency.

"At the moment, we have no comment on the verdict of the Supreme Court," a senior diplomat from the Sri Lankan Embassy in Riyadh said.

In Sri Lanka, the Rupavahini and MTV Sirasa televisions channels also reported the outcome of Nafeek's case.

A social worker who visited Nafeek in jail during the weekend told Arab News that the maid was fine and desperate to see her parents and family.

"Although the prison authorities are aware of the final verdict, they have not told her, nor have I," the social worker said.

BCCI and SLC fight over Raina's bookie issue

Mumbai, Oct 24 (IBNS) The Indian cricket board has denied a news story that Sri Lanka Cricket had reported against Suresh Raina on association with illegal bookmakers during a tour of the island nation and that it remained non-committal to the complaint.

"The BCCI has just learnt that several media outlets are claiming that Sri Lanka Cricket had submitted a report on Suresh Raina to it, and that no action was taken by the Board on the same.

"The BCCI would like to clarify that it has received no such report from SLC. The claims being made by a section of the media are totally baseless and false," said N. Srinivasan

Hony. Secretary, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in a media release on Sunday.

An earlier media report said the Anti-Corruption and Security Unit of International Cricket Council (ICC) is probing why the BCCI is silent about a report of its player Suresh Raina being seen in the company of a woman linked to an associate of an illegal bookmaker.

Sri Lankan gold medalist at CWG fails drug test

72 year gold wait doesnt end......

Colombo, Oct 24 (DPA) Sri Lankan boxer Manju Wanniarachchi has failed a doping test at the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi where he won a gold medal earlier this month, a sports ministry official said Sunday.

Wanniarachchi, 37, faces being stripped of the medal if found guilty of a doping offence.

The sports ministry official said that Sri Lanka has been informed by officials in New Delhi that he tested positive for the steroid nandrolone.

Wanniarachchi beat Welshman Sean McGoldrick in the bantamweight final and was given a rousing welcome for winning a first gold for Sri Lanka at the Games in 72 years.

Immediately after the report on the positive test the boxer filed a police complaint that he suspects that a doctor who administered an injection on him two months back may have been responsible for injecting the steroid.

The doctor who originally claimed to hold a medical degree has now found not to be a properly qualified medical doctor, according to investigating police.

The boxer's coach Dian Gomes said he was shocked about the outcome of the doping test.

Wanniarachchi has two weeks to request the examination of the b-sample. He faces losing the medal if the second test confirms the original finding and he is found guilty of a doping offence. In this case the gold would go to McGoldrick.

Aussie Bayliss to quit as Sri Lanka cricket coach


SYDNEY - Australian Trevor Bayliss will quit as coach of the Sri Lankan team after next year's World Cup, reports said on Monday.Bayliss has handed in his notice after more than three successful years coaching Sri Lanka and plans to finish up after the World Cup in Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh next April, the reports said. Bayliss, 47, said he wanted to spend more time with his wife and two children, who still live in Sydney, but he also intended to keep coaching. Click here to find out more! "I'm on the lookout (for a new job)," Bayliss told The Sydney Morning Herald. Bayliss took up his role with the Sri Lankans in August 2007 and became the fifth Australian to coach Sri Lanka after Dav Whatmore, Bruce Yardley, John Dyson and Tom Moody. Under his guidance, Sri Lanka have enjoyed a win ratio of better than 50 percent and are ranked third in Test cricket and fourth in one-day internationals. "They've got a good chance in this World Cup coming up and I'm looking forward to it very much," he said. Sri Lankan-born Whatmore coached Sri Lanka to their greatest cricket triumph in 1996 when they co-hosted and won that year's World Cup, defeating Australia in the final. Sri Lanka are playing warm-up one-dayers ahead of their three-match ODI series and a one-off Twenty20 match against Australia next month.